Promises Kept
Faith of Our Fathers
September 11, 2022
Rev. Dr. Gabe Sylvia
The sermon teaches that God unfailingly keeps his promises in the covenant of grace, calls his people to faithful obedience and required praise, and gives assurance through fulfilled promises (as in Genesis 21), through patient waiting, and through covenant signs like the Lord's meal.
Summary
Using Genesis 21 and the story of Sarah's miraculous childbirth, the sermon contrasts human unreliability with God’s threefold perfection as a promise‑keeping covenant maker. It emphasizes that 'visited' signals God's active involvement, that delays do not mean God has failed, and that God keeps promises because he is Lord, he loves his people, and his glory is at stake. While salvation and knowing God's love come by grace through faith, the covenant of grace expects our obedient response and our praise; the Lord’s covenant meal is both an act of obedience and a means by which God assures us we belong to him.
Key Points
- We live in a 'season of promises' and should beware of making promises we don't keep.
- Genesis 21 (Sarah's childbirth) models God’s faithfulness and the reality of promise‑keeping.
- The covenant of grace has three defining marks: a promise‑keeping God, our obedience, and praise.
- 'Visited' conveys God's active, sometimes surprising intervention on behalf of his people.
- God keeps promises because he is Lord, he loves his people, and his glory is involved.
- Delays between prayer and fulfillment do not prove God’s unfaithfulness; patience and trust are required.
- Assurance of God’s love comes by grace through faith, though believers may struggle with assurance.
- Praise is not optional in the covenant of grace; it is a required response (Sarah’s praise as example).
- The Lord’s covenant meal (the Lord's Supper) is an act of obedience that also reassures us of our belonging to God.
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